


The Blue Tea Set

by TatiRena



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alzheimer's Disease, F/M, Minor Character Death, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 15:20:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29262669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TatiRena/pseuds/TatiRena
Summary: Petunia is moving to a care facility, Dudley offers Harry some closure.
Relationships: Dudley Dursley/Original Female Character(s), Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley
Kudos: 24





	The Blue Tea Set

The Potter home was perfectly normal by wizard standards. A collection of extra quidditch gear could be found stashed by the backdoor, a wireless was placed in a corner of the living room and moving family pictures adorned the walls. There were however a few muggle additions as well, including a toaster on the kitchen counter, a Gameboy left behind by one of the kids and an old green phone with a twisted cord hanging on the wall in the hallway. Harry was puttering around cleaning up after breakfast. He had taken the morning off after finally closing a long and tedious case at the ministry the night before. Ginny was off at work prepping to cover tonight’s game, the kids were all off at school together, and for the first time in a long time, Harry was home alone. The morning sun shone lazily through the curtains as Harry wiped down the counter, making everything smell like lemon and finished just in time for the unfamiliar ring of the green phone. 

It was rare anyone actually used the phone. They had installed it when James started at primary school and the principal had insisted, she needed an easy way of getting in contact with parents of especially creative children, and it had been used well for several years. The only reason the phone was still part of the hallway, was Dudley. 

The cousins had been in sporadic contact for several years when the children were younger, but they hadn’t talked since Christmas. Harry startled slightly at the unaccustomed sound, but quickly went to pick up the receiver. 

“Hi Dudley” he said automatically, already knowing who was on the line

“Hi Harry, how are you?” said a tired Dudley on the other end

“Just a quiet morning, how are you?” 

Dudley sighed, and Harry could hear the strain in his voice

“Ehm, having a bad day really. You know mom hasn’t been well since dad died, so we are moving her to a care facility closer to home in a couple of days.”

Vernon Dursley had passed away from a heart attack two years earlier. According to Dudley, his father had been warned of an increasingly high blood pressure for years and had ignored it, as he did with most things that weren’t his own idea. But to Petunia, who only trusted what her husband said, it had been a complete shock that heart attacks did not care for her husband’s opinion, and she had not recovered. Her memory had started slipping and Dudley had been very concerned when they last spoke at Christmas. 

“She is forgetting what day it is, and she forgets to drink water, we… we need help”

Dudley was talking as if he needed to justify the decision. It was clear Petunia hadn’t taken well to the plan.

“But we are packing down the house and I thought perhaps you wanted to come by after she leaves. I know you didn’t have it easy there and it could be a way to close the chapter?” There was a nervous pause before he quickly added “Ann suggested it” 

Ann was Dudley’s wife and a psychologist. She had been a catalyst in the cousins building a relationship, and Harry respected her immensely.

“That… I’m.. eh.. I’m not sure” Harry stammered. 

He did not like digging into the past and he really didn’t want to see the house on Privet Drive again. 

“Can I bring Ginny?” he finally said

“Of course” Dudley sounded relieved “mom will be picked up at 3pm, so anytime after that, I’ll be there packing”

Harry ended the call and put the phone back on the wall. It might be good, or it might be nothing. Dealing with the aftermaths of the war had taught him closure did good. But even if it was nothing, he could support Dudley, this would be a difficult day for him more than anyone else.  
________________________

It was a warm afternoon in the late summer, and a crack sounded on Privet Drive. A couple walked out from a group of bushes, but no one paid any attention as there was moving boxes heaped on the lawn in front of number 4. Moving was always a sign of change on the street and all the neighbors paid close attention to this unwelcome disturbance.

As they walked up the driveway, Harry grasped Ginny’s hand more tightly than necessary, and noticed someone had stepped through the roses. Petunia would be angry. He quickly shook his head and reminded himself that the roses didn’t matter anymore, and he was not going to be in trouble. The moving crew however might be.

With a deep sight he stopped in front of the door and slowly raised his hand. He took another deep breath and knocked carefully. Raised voices came from inside the house and it was making him unsettled, he wanted to turn around, but Ginny held on to him. Dudley opened the door.

“Hi, oh, I’m sorry, everything is a mess. Come… come in”

They stepped into the hallway which seemed a lot smaller than Harry remembered. But he was also a lot broader over the shoulders compared to the last time he was here.

Dudley looked stressed, his slacks was wrinkled, and his hair was tussled. He started explaining what had happened when a small woman in a button down dress stepped into the hallway.

“Vernon! Who is it?!”

A very thin Petunia stood in the doorway to the living room, hesitating for a moment when she saw the guests. Most of her hair had turned grey and her face had sunk a little. She looked like she didn’t eat enough, was Harry’s first thought. He didn’t know if this made him sad or not.

“Lily! Finally, you’re late!”

The couple froze when Petunia resolutely stepped over to Ginny and gave her a hug.

“And of course, you brought that horrid boy with you”

She eyed Harry up and down as if his presence insulted her. Harry felt like he was 10 again, although he towered over her.

“Come, I want to show you the tea set mom and dad sent over” She started pulling Ginny towards the kitchen and Harry panicked, not sure if he should stop her. But Ginny gave him a small smile and raised her hand. She could handle it.

Dudley stood as frozen, with tears in his eyes. It was clear he had a bad day.

“I am so sorry” he started “she refused to leave with the caretakers, she keeps talking about a tea set, but we can’t find it, and she won’t leave without it.” He looked at Harry with defeat in his eyes. “She gets worse with stress”

They stood silently in the hallway for a moment, listening to Petunia chatting away and Ginny’s soft answers.

“She thought Ginny was my mom” Harry suddenly said

“I guess so... I’m sorry. I should have warned you, you didn’t need that” he looked to the floor and put his hands in his pockets. “Sometimes she forgets when she is. Today I have been Vernon a lot” Dudley was about to cry, and the red around his eyes told Harry it wouldn’t be the first time today. His fingers twitched like he needed a cigarette.

Harry put a hand on Dudley’s sagging shoulder.

“Don’t worry, we’ve seen a lot of trauma after the war. Ginny knows how to handle it. Just let me know how I can help”

Dudley looked up at Harry with a relieved look “if you could help me find the tea set, that would be great. Do you remember a blue set?”

He had spent a lot more time in the kitchen as kids then Dudley, but he didn’t remember ever seeing a blue tea set. He shook his head apologetically. 

“Sorry, maybe someone else will remember?”

“There is no one else left to ask” Dudley said sadly. Harry knew the feeling. He nodded slowly in understanding and they walked into the living room. 

Ginny was in the kitchen with Petunia and Harry’s heart softened when he saw how gentle his wife was. It was not the first time they had seen someone with this state of mind, and although Harry held no love for the older woman, he knew it meant something to Dudley. It must be the red hair he reasoned, and Ginny didn’t question it, instead trying to figure out how to calm the erratic woman.

Petunia was going through the kitchen cabinets for the 20th time that day, chatting away and once again distraught that she couldn’t find the set. 

“It was right here!” she said “it is so pretty, with delicate little blue flowers”

Ginny searched with her, even though she knew they wouldn’t find it. She was trying to find a reason for its absence that Petunia would accept.

“Maybe someone borrowed it?” she offered, but Petunia shook her head like it was an absurd idea.

“Or perhaps Vernon already moved it to your new house?” Petunia stopped and looked at Ginny. Ginny held her breath, but then a smile spread on the pointy face “yes! Of course, he did! Oh, Vernon he is such a sweetheart, always knows what to do”

Harry scoffed, earning a raised eyebrow from Dudley, but he didn’t say anything. Petunia hadn’t heard.

“Oh, Dudley! Are we ready to go yet? Why are you standing around? And sort your hair Dudders”

Petunia had forgotten Ginny in the kitchen and was tripping into the hallway again looking for her handbag.

Dudley was looking between his mother, Harry and Ginny. “Go, said Harry, we’ll close down here”

Dudley looked at him for a moment, before giving him a big hug. They didn’t normally hug, but this wasn’t a normal day. Ginny stepped over and hugged him next. 

“If she gets too worked up again in the future, call me, I’ll come over and hopefully it will give her some peace” she offered with a look that said it wasn’t up for discussion.

Dudley looked perplexed. “But it is quite a drive” he started. 

“Well, I know a couple of magic tricks” said Ginny with a grin.

This earned a smile from Dudley and he nodded again “thank you” he said, before squeezing her hands again.

“Dudders! We are late! Why didn’t you tell me?” Petunia was calling from the hallway and Dudley sighed, before he put on a brave face and went out to follow her to the car. He gently guided her to the front seat, making sure her seatbelt was on before he closed the door and walked to the driver’s seat. He stopped and waved at them through the window before he sat in the car and drove down the street. And then they were alone in the house.

Harry took in his surroundings. Besides from a few boxes and what appeared to be an attempt to pack, it looked the same. Some of the pictures on the wall where new, but everything else, including Vernon’s usual paper on the side table was the same. Ginny went into the front garden to retrieve some boxes and they started packing down the content of the downstairs rooms. With Petunia out of the house, they could use magic and they progressed quickly. Soon the living room and kitchen was packed down and they moved into the hallway, removing pictures from the walls before he found himself in front of the cupboard.

He couldn’t move himself to open it. It was like the wall he had build inside himself had manifested around that little hole under the stairs. Ginny stepped next to him, like she had done so many times before and held his hand. With her by his side, he could do anything. With a sight he opened the door. 

It was so small.

Ginny didn’t say anything, but he could feel her shaking, or was it himself? He wasn’t sure anymore. Petunia had removed any sign of Harry from the house long ago, and the cupboard was now what it was intended for. Brooms, a bucket, and cleaning supplies was stacked neatly on the floor. With a quick flick of his wand, he emptied the contents, and the closet was empty. He turned of the light under the stairs and closed the door. No more.

They decided to leave the upstairs for Dudley to pack, it was his and his mom’s personal things after all. With a look around the packed room he pulled Ginny close and buried his nose in her hair. 

“Thank you” he said softly. He had closed another chapter. Then there was a crack, and the living room was empty.  
________________________

It took two days before Dudley called again and Ginny went to the care center. Petunia had trashed around her room enough to bruise herself and refused to eat. But Ginny was able to calm her down and they sat together while Petunia ate, talking about the tea set.

Over the next two years the calls were fewer and fewer and eventually Petunia was talking only to Lily and Vernon, no matter who was in front of her. The doctor said she was locking herself in a time she thought to be the easiest. A simpler time. Both Harry and Ginny went to her funeral, Dudley needed family to be with him and he had no one else left. They never found the blue tea set.  
________________________

1981  
It was early morning and Petunia was bustling around the kitchen. Vernon was putting on his coat, getting ready to leave for work, Dudley was sitting in his highchair and chomping on a piece of pear.

She had taken out her favorite tea set. Her parents had given it to her when they moved into the house on Privet Drive, and she was going to show it off to her new neighbor coming for tea later. They would never have seen anything so delicate, but it needed to shine before then. 

Vernon called his goodbye before opening the front door. Instead of the sound of the door closing however, there was a yelp. Vernon did not yelp.

He starting fuming at the front door instead. Perhaps the paper had been left in the roses again? 

Vernon burst into the living room again, without even removing his shoes, carrying a bundle of blankets awkwardly in his arms. 

“Petunia! Look what was on the step! I don’t know what the world is coming to! So rude…” he kept talking, but Petunia tuned him out the moment she saw a mop of black hair in the blankets. Tea set forgotten, she quickly stepped over and took the child out of Vernon’s arms. He had progressed to ranting about irresponsible hippies. Confused she recognized the whimpering child and sat him down on Dudley’s blanket on the floor. She grabbed a piece of pear from Dudley’s plate and gave it to the toddler, who cooingly accepted and started stuffing it in his mouth.

Dudley was not happy about someone else taking his food and eyed the other child suspiciously. Petunia stood rooted to the spot for a minute, not hearing the complains around her, trying to make sense of the situation. Then she saw the letter on the floor.

Quickly she picked it up. It looked like it was from a wizard. Lily.

She opened it and started going over the letter, her eyes went wider as she read. Her world went fuzzy and she grabbed for the counter to steady herself, her hands caught onto the tea tray. Then everything went dark and she fell. Pieces of blue china dancing around her as she hit the kitchen floor.

**Author's Note:**

> Dudley and Harry reconciled years ago. Read my fic before this. No one likes or excuses Petunia's actions. But mental illness sucks regardless. No hate.


End file.
